7th Grade Pre Assessment.docx - Wikispaces

7th Grade Pre Assessment: Informational Text Assessment
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Read the selection below and respond to the questions.
Do you read the newspaper or watch the news on television? If you do, you know that a large part of the news is
devoted to disasters. There are two main kinds of disasters--the kind caused by forces of nature, and the other
caused by human beings. Natural disasters include tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tidal waves, monsoons,
and volcanic activity. An example of a natural disaster is the earthquake of 8.3 magnitude that hit San Francisco
in 1906. This caused many buildings to collapse and a huge fire. Manmade destruction includes acts of war, car
and plane crashes, and the ruin of the environment. For example, an explosion of a steam boiler caused an
American battleship to sink in 1898. Let’s look at a story of a natural disaster and the first filming of such an
event.
In 1900, the city of Galveston, Texas, on the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, had a natural disaster. It was
struck by a cyclone with 120 mile-per-hour winds, driving rains, and flooding. The storm lasted 18 hours. Tidal
waves swept through the sea-level streets destroying homes and buildings. The waves wiped out electricity,
roads, and communications systems. More than 5,000 people lost their lives as a result of this storm. The storm
was so powerful that all the small boats along the dock front were lifted out of the water and washed up into the
streets. Many of these small boats were later found miles inland. Photographs and film showed the wrecked
buildings. A cyclone has incredible strength and power.
During this storm, one of the first films of a natural disaster was made. This was done by the Edison motion
picture company. Thomas Edison had invented the camera used. News reports told of the cyclone and tidal
waves in Galveston. As soon as this was reported, the Edison motion picture company sent cameramen by train
to the scene. The cameramen took about 1000 feet of moving pictures. These Edison films were among the
first used to market disaster and devastation to large audiences. Theaters and an amusement park charged
admission for others to see these short film clips. Customers were promised a firsthand look at the "scene of
horror." On the amusement park stage, people watched a simulation of the Galveston storm. This simulation
was complete with thunder, lightning, wind, and waves.
Adapted from: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/sh/disaster/sh_disaster_cyclone_4.html
Questions:
1. Write a one or two sentence summary of the reading.
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2. After reading the selection, state and explain an important idea.
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3. In your own words, explain what is meant by "A cyclone has incredible strength and power.”
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4. What does the passage tell us about power? Support your response with details from the reading.
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